Prom 68, Mariinsky Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall

To hear Russian musicians perform the music of their countrymen is always a splashy occasion, and this all-Russian programme promises to be one of the highlights of the Proms.

The Orchestra and Chorus of the prestigious Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg do their bit to mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution with the music of three giants of Russian music: Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.

Prokofiev’s mighty Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution opens the Prom. The powerful Mariinsky Chorus joins the Mariinsky Orchestra for the 10 movements that depict the birth of the Soviet Union from the battle for the Winter Palace and the demanding first years to the funeral of Lenin, the building of farms and factories, and the rise of Stalin. Last performed at the Proms nearly 20 years ago, it combines bold orchestral writing with traditional folk melodies.

Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5 picks up at exactly the moment Prokofiev left off. First performed in 1937 at the height of the Great Terror, his D minor symphony was tagged ‘a Soviet artist’s creative reply to just criticism’, and in it he skillfully managed to both appease a watchful regime and blast out his objections to it. A live performance is an overwhelming affair.

The Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, a winner of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 3. Written as a single movement, it is a late work that might have been intended to have further movements but which stands alone in the repertoire. Poignantly, the composer died weeks after he laid down his pen, and it was not performed for the first time until two weeks after his death.

This Prom is sure to be a high spot in this year's season. Dive in!